Sports briefs for Oct. 28, 2013

Raiders assistant coach apologizes for gesture

Oakland Raiders defensive coordinator Jason Tarver issued an apology on Monday for an obscene gesture directed at officials during Sunday’s victory against Pittsburgh.

Tarver directed a middle-finger gesture at officials after a personal foul was called on cornerback Mike Jenkins for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell.

The flag was subsequently picked up and no penalty was called.

“I apologize for my action on the sideline of yesterday’s game,” Tarver said in a release. “It was in the heat of the moment, and I regret drawing attention away from the Raiders players and what they accomplished.”

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It’s unclear what actions, if any, the Raiders will take toward Tarver.

“It was just an emotional outburst by a coach in the heat of the game,” Raiders owner Mark Davis told ESPN.com. “We don’t condone those actions and we’ll handle it in house.”

Pacers’ Granger out three weeks

Indiana Pacers forward Danny Granger will miss approximately three weeks with a strained left calf.

The timetable for recovery is a precautionary measure as the team wants to make sure Granger is fully healthy after he missed all but five games last season with a knee injury.

Granger was injured during the Oct. 16 preseason loss to the Dallas Mavericks. He has not practiced since then.

Coach Frank Vogel has said there is no correlation between the knee and calf injuries.

Eagles QB Vick may be out a month

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick is expected to be sidelined for up to a month after re-injuring his left hamstring in Sunday’s 15-7 loss to the New York Giants.

Vick, who initially suffered the injury in Week 5, missed two games, then returned Sunday. He lasted only four possessions before he felt something “pop”‘ in the back of his leg after being chased out of the pocket.

That leaves rookie Matt Barkley and Nick Foles as candidates to start this week’s game at Oakland against the Raiders (3-4). But Foles still has not been cleared after suffering a concussion two weeks ago.

Panthers safety critical of Goodell

Carolina Panthers safety Mike Mitchell criticized the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday, claiming he is being targeted for fines, ESPN.com reported.

Mitchell was fined $7,875 for taunting on a play in which St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford suffered a season-ending knee injury on Oct. 20.

“Roger being Roger, I guess,” Mitchell said, according to the report. “To be honest, I think there is a little bit of a targeting system they have out. I think I’m one of the guys they’d been looking for, but I’m OK with that.”

Mitchell said he has been fined five times for a total of nearly $45,000.

When asked where the fines went, Mitchell looked into a television camera and said, “Right in Roger’s pocket. Right in his pocket. On camera, right in his pocket is where it’s going.”

Mitchell said he performed a similar gesture twice during the game, but was only fined for the latter because, he said, it involved a “big-name quarterback.”